


One Reason

by dith



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-28
Updated: 2012-05-28
Packaged: 2017-11-06 05:08:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/415045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dith/pseuds/dith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony does have a good reason not to make a play for Steve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Reason

There was only one reason Tony couldn't do Steve Rogers, but it was one of those extraordinary cases where only one reason was enough.

It was absurd, Tony thought to himself as Steve bent over the wiring diagrams, plain white t-shirt clinging to *every* curve of his body, his perfect plump rose-pink lip caught between two perfect snow white hero teeth. Just, the entire man was absurd. He was a very large absurdly perfect man. No one could possibly look that good and live; Tony was sure there were several laws of physics contradicted by Steve's very existence.

Absurd, and yet maddening.

Because it *was* a good reason.

###

"Sir, power is down to less than one percent," said Jarvis, and Tony tightened his grip, expecting the servos in his metal gloves to amplify the grip. In his hands, he felt some of the fibers of Captain America's spangly outfit give way.

He muttered several curses in Punjabi that he had picked up in a very unpleasant cave as he put everything he had into a last burst of speed. He needed to get to land before he had to drop Steve.

Below him, Captain America's huge, ridiculously perfect body dangled lifelessly from his grip, arms and legs rippled in the wind caused by Tony's passage, because he was fairly far out to sea and he didn't have time to get a better grip and he also didn't have time to slow down because if he fell they were *both* going to fall and...

He saw Steve's body tear itself away from his hands and tumble, slowly, out of the air... and on to the soft white sand of the beach below him. They weren't going that slowly; Steve's body threw up plumes of sand.

"Jarvis," said Tony and Jarvis said "Yes sir, I've notified SHIELD of our location" just as the last of the jet power was spent and the suit became a traveling coffin and tumbled out of the sky with Tony in it.

###

"Don't be ridiculous, I barely have a scratch. Do you know what this is? This is just a rakish accent to my whole ensemble," said Tony as he pointed to the gash over one eyebrow, trying to walk away from Steve in the hospital bed.

"True enough," said Steve with that all-American boyish grin but it really wasn't that boyish when delivered by those plump rose-petal lips and Jesus Christ on a rolling cracker, the whole thing was really ridiculous.

"So. No more thanking me for saving your life, that sort of thing just gets old, though I do appreciate your appreciation for my effort and I just know you are going to put me on your Christmas card list," said Tony as he walked out. Because just standing next to the bed, where he could see those eyes and every glint of light on every perfect sun-golden hair and *Jesus fucking Christ sitting on a donkey in the shade.*

Steve looked disappointed, but he watched Tony go.

###

When Steve got out of the hospital, Tony was right there.

Not talking, of course, not *interacting*, but standing there watching Steve walk under his own power, every muscle in his legs, his hips, his back flexing under clothes that apparently *were* issued at *just* that level of tightness and *only* for Steve Rogers and Jesus, Tony really needed to blow something up.

"I thought we were going back to the tower together," said Steve in his quiet I'm-not-fighting-with-you way and Tony just twitched as he looked up.

"No, I have some experiments to finish here and really, it's not like I need to ride in a jet, is it?"

This time it was Steve who walked out, and Tony did *not* watch him go.

###

Tony didn't need to watch him go because Tony's world was infected with cameras.

Back in what had until recently been Stark Tower and really still should be, but which had become something that Tony had no control over, and that was really starting to get on his nerves, Tony stood in what was left of his lab and activated his screens. *All* the screens.

He had a million shots of Steve's perfect arms, Steve's perfect jaw, Steve's perfect throat, Steve's perfect pecs, Steve's perfect earlobes, hell, the man's *fingers* were lethally gorgeous and Tony had recordings of them all which he could peruse at his leisure, with or without accompanying masturbation, and it *just drove Tony insane*.

Steve was different. Steve was from a different time. And Steve was a different kind of man. There was an extremely good reason why this time, only this time, please God in heaven may it only be this time, Tony couldn't just follow his instincts as he always did and go for it.

It was serious. Steve was serious and Steve made things serious and so it was a serious reason because of Steve, and that made Tony insane as well. Because making things unserious was one of his top skills. But he couldn't see his way around this one, couldn't think of a way to make it lighter. And therefore couldn't think of a way to get what he so desperately, obviously, viscerally wanted.

There was nothing in the world Tony couldn't have without sufficient application of money, effort, time, or whining. Nothing except this.

###

When Bruce caught Tony watching Steve walk out of the lab one day he didn't beat around the bush, he just asked the pertinent question. "Why not?"

Tony flicked him a look that had genuine fury in it, knowing fury was something Bruce would understand, hoping it would make Bruce back off. But Bruce was not a lightweight.

"You're trying to tell me that you really don't grasp by now that I have a very good reason for what I don't do as well as what I do?" Tony said in clipped tones, fingers flicking and spinning over the surfaces of his lab screens in way he had that was more spastic than graceful, but extremely precise.

Bruce just lifted an eyebrow.

"You don't get it, do you," said Tony in his flat voice, the one that said he didn't really want to be explaining things to you right now. "You've never read his file."

Bruce just waited.

Tony flicked him some nuclear reactor diagrams, but sighed, knowing that Bruce wouldn't back off the real problem until it was defined. "He's a virgin."

Both Bruce's eyes opened wide. "Good reason."


End file.
